Motif · Book 2, Carl's Doomsday Scenario

The Manager benefit

Hidden in Donut's Former Child Actor class: Mordecai teleports to every saferoom she enters for the rest of the crawl, loses his codex and his television, gains system protection from the fourth floor, and, once she has reached it, would be free to go if he were killed as her manager. Taken on Odette's advice, made to look like Donut's whim, and the reason 'Goddamnit, Donut' is now Mordecai's line too.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 1 — The jury room
• Chapter 2 — Race and class
• Chapter 3 — The Over City explained
• Chapter 4 — Knives from a window
• Chapter 5 — Boxes at the Pug
• Chapter 7 — The lion's heart
• Chapter 8 — Water Lily
• Chapter 13 — Mordecai's room
• Chapter 14 — The One-Eyed Narwhal
• Chapter 15 — The Desperado Club
• Chapter 17 — GumGum
• Epilogue — Epilogue: the leaderboard

Progression

Odette's plan (ch. 1); Mordecai's rage; what it costs him (codex, television, freedom of movement) and what it gives the party (chat, alchemy, a brain that has been in the dungeon for decades). Managers may not fight but may do anything else (ch. 8); are system-protected from the fourth floor and paid by the ward's depth (ch. 15); and are released when the ward reaches floor four — 'Congratulations' (ch. 25).